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Thursday, April 27, 2017

#AtoZChallenge W is for Michael J. Ward

Hello all! Today, I have some very exciting news from Michael J. Ward, creator of the Destiny Questseries. So far, there are 3 wonderful books full of exploration and awesome combat, but now there's more...

Who
are you and what have you written?

I’m Michael J. Ward and I’m the author of
the DestinyQuest series of gamebooks that launched back in2011 with The
Legion of Shadow (gosh, was it really that long ago?!). There are currently
three books in the series, with a fourth soon to be in the works.

So
book four is going ahead?

Short of any major disasters, then yes I am
due to start the writing in July with the aim of completing the book by
Christmas (that is my optimistic timeline, anyway). As it has been a while
since I penned any fiction then it may well take me some time to get back into
the swing of things!

And
the new book is going to be published by Megara Entertainment?

Yes, while I was attending Manticon in
Germany last year, I was lucky enough to meet Dave Poppel who was there
representing Megara Entertainment. He asked me what my plans were for Book Four
and explained that they were very keen to publish the series.

Obviously, I was over the moon with the
news. Megara produce some beautiful gamebooks; real collectors’ items, with
hardback covers and colour maps etc., so I am extremely excited by the
possibilities.

You
mention maps. In Book One and Two there were three maps/acts, but in Book Three
there were only two. Will Book Four continue the trend of only having the two
maps?

I found the two act structure very
difficult from a story-telling perspective. The only reason I dropped to two
maps in Book Three was because my publisher wanted to print the maps on the
inside covers. I have been assured by Megara that I am allowed to have three
maps and return to the normal three act structure.

Each
book introduces something new and different. In Book Two it was team battles
and in Book Three we had the special death moves and the sled races. Can we
expect new mechanics in Book Four?

Oh yes, there are going to be a lot of
exciting new things. Obviously, it is early days and I can’t go into too much
detail, but pets and summoning will be making its debut, giving you further
tactical choices in combat. There will also be a ‘vault’ where you can store
weapons and equipment, so you no longer have to suffer the soul-crushing loss
of destroying that favourite item when you swap it out. There is lots of other
new stuff too!

With
each book it feels as though you have been refining the combat and the
character classes. What can we expect from Book Four?

My goal with DestinyQuest was to always
have the three paths (rogue, mage, warrior) play very differently. It was a difficult
aim to achieve and I wasn’t satisfied with the results in the first three
books. This time around, I went back to the drawing board and planned the three
paths from the ground up, so to speak, especially how their abilities interact.
I am pleased to say that I think I have cracked it – and all three paths should
genuinely ‘feel’ very different to play now. Each path now has a couple of
dedicated builds (i.e. playstyles) that have abilities that play into that. So
you could focus your character into one playstyle or take a mix of the two. I
think this approach offers much more synergy with abilities and I hope will be
much more satisfying to play.

Will
team battles make a come-back?

I’m not sure yet, as there is so much going
on with Book Four that adding in the team battles might just be overload for
newer players. But don’t rule it out. One thing I can promise though – the
legendary monsters are getting a buff for Book Four. Trust me, they are gonna
be big, bad and ugly, and present a real hardcore challenge for the dedicated.

Book
Three had the death penalty system to add consequences to losing a combat. Will
this see a comeback in Book Four?

The death moves and the death penalty
system suited the character and the themes of Book Three, but they don’t really
have a place in Book Four.Instead, your
character will have a new special ability (that will link to a new chain of
abilities) , which they can use. Again, this will add to the tactical options
you have in combat.

With
each book, the choices you make and the paths you can choose have become more
complex. What can we expect from the storytelling and options in Book
Four?

I hope to push this as much as I can. I’ve
learnt from games such as Telltale’s The
Walking Dead, just how powerful character interaction can be – and how that
can weigh heavy on your choices. I really want to offer readers a cast of characters
that they care about, and choices that will have real and meaningful
consequences. While I am still in the very early planning stages, I sense that
Book Four will have more in common with The
Heart of Fire, in terms of its structure and storytelling.

There
was mention on your site of a kickstarter for Book Four. Can you tell us more
about this?

Nothing is set in stone as yet, but I know
Megara are very keen to run a kickstarter towards the end of the book’s
completion. That could be the end of this year, all being well. Megara have
already run some very successful campaigns, so I am hopeful and excited that it
will be successful – and hopefully offer up some great rewards for DQ fans. We
all love shiny loot right?

Sounds
awesome. How can readers stay up to date with the latest news?

The news section of the DestinyQuest
website is the best place to check - http://www.destiny-quest.com/news/- as well as my Twitter and Facebook
pages (you can find the links at the bottom of this page - http://www.destiny-quest.com/buy/ ).
As the book progresses I will be posting regular updates as well as some sneak
peeks at the new paths/careers and build mechanics. Exciting times ahead folks!

2 comments:

I had sooo forgotten about DestinyQuest. Reading through this post though, it all comes flooding back.

I remember now how eager I was to pick up the first book when it was initially published, the great fun I had playing through it (although I don't recall completing it), and being impressed at just how much game had been bound into one book.